‘We enter the new year facing many challenges’: President

President Maithripala Sirisena said the country had to overcome many challenges in order to achieve the goals it has set for the year ahead.

The economic prosperity, reconciliation, freedom and further endorsement of Sri Lanka’s global image are among the top priorities of the new year, the President said in his New Year message.

The following is the full text of the President’s New Year message.

Every passing moment adds to our knowledge and experience and at the same time, each and every moment of the future will judge our capabilities to face new emerging challenges. The great commitment and determined courage shown by us to face those challenges and achieve our goals will take us to the level of excellence.

We should bid farewell to the year that ends and welcome the new year with new expectations, while prioritising that vision.

Accordingly, as a country we can consider the past year as a year in which many positive expectations have been fulfilled. Furthermore, we enter the year 2018 with many challenges that we must face with courage in order to accomplish our goals. The economic prosperity we should gain as a country, the reconciliation which should be deeply instilled in society, human freedom and a further endorsement of the glorious image of Sri Lanka at the international fora are among those priorities. Our determination and commitment towards making the new year that begins an amazing one will depend on how far we succeed in achieving these goals.

The New Year dawns at a time when there is a miraculous beginning of a new chapter of development with a gigantic hydro irrigation project being vested with the people to take the nation speedily towards prosperity.

I wish all Sri Lankan citizens a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year, in which the people will get a rich harvest from the agricultural lands irrigated with the silver blue waters of the Moragahakanda Reservoir.